The present invention generally relates to computer systems and in particular to messaging applications in computer systems. Instant messaging (IM) has become a very popular communication tool in business, educational, and domestic arenas. IM is a quick effective way to correspond locally or long distance with buddies, co-workers, and family members without the commitment of a phone call. Recently, IM has been increasingly utilized in corporate settings to discuss meeting agendas, ideas, frustrations, business solutions as well as leisure chatting. Incredibly useful information is generated daily utilizing IM; however, the information is not easily shared (when desired) with the interested community.
Existing IM systems allow transcripts of communication to be saved in an IM history log. Retrieving IM transcripts or sharing the transcript with the community is virtually impossible after the IM transcript has been logged. Current IM systems allow the IM users to search directly within an IM session, or save an IM session to a text file. After saving the IM session to a text file, the user may utilize a text editor to search the transcript of the IM session. However, text searches are limited to matching nearly exact textual content. A text search may overlook relative information, such as terms implied by context, but not represented explicitly in the text of the IM session.